318 LA rebuild after losing a valve seat

One more thing, I do remember that ever since buying the car, it never would go into 1st gear. Park, reverse, neutral, drive, second, not first. After engaging in neutral, the shifter wouldn't quite line up with the indexes on the console. Hope that makes sense.
Yes this does make sense
This happens when the console shifter ratio is different from the ratio at the trans. Your trans lever may be too long or too short, easy fix.